Moberly Schools says \"lack of communication\" following threat

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MOBERLY - Moberly Public Schools apologized Thursday after a threat sparked rumors and concern among parents.

School administrators said a student at Moberly High School threatened to bring a gun to school Wednesday. They clarified Thursday morning "there was no weapon at school. There was no bomb threat. There was no violent act of any kind associated with this report." Superintendent Gena McCluskey said a resource officer immediately removed the student from school, and no further events took place.

"There really are no facts to share," a letter sent to parents said.

School leadership apologized in the letter to parents and students for the lack of communication between the district and those involved about the threat. McCluskey said had if there had been a serious situation at hand the school district and its staff are prepared to handle the situation.

"When we receive reports we take them very seriously," the letter said. "We know without any question the huge responsibility we have protecting our children. We take that seriously."

Some parents still aren't happy about the delayed timing of the news.

One of those parents is Barbara Carden, who has two children that go to Moberly High School.

"I was pretty upset about it, and I was looking on the Internet to see if there was anything from the school or the news. And then I ran into things on Facebook from other parents, and that's just kind of upsetting when you're not told by the school, because then things get blown out of proportion, you don't know what's true and what's not true," she said.

Carden said this is not the first incident of miscommunication between the school and parents. She says this most recent time has caused her to lose a lot of trust in the school.

"I think you should be able to trust the school to do the right thing so you know that your kids are being safe," she said.

Carden did not send her kids to school Thursday because as of the morning, she was still not aware of all the facts.

McCluskey and both the principal and assistant principal of Moberly High School said parents and students can contact their building administrator or the superintendent if there are further questions.